Archive for category Drug Rehabilitation

If you or someone close to you is currently recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, this is the perfect time to make your voices heard and make the public aware of the struggles of recovery.

September is celebrated all around the U.S. as the National Recovery Month, which provides an opportune time to highlight the importance of early intervention and preventive measures to rescue people from their addictions. This year marks the 25th time that the campaign is being held, with the advocacy stretching to the awareness of mental disorders as well.

The theme for this year is “Join the Voices for Recovery: Speak Up, Reach Out,” which gives recovering addicts the chance to have their voices heard and express their struggles in recovering from drug and alcohol abuse. The campaign hopes to put a positive spin on the issue by emphasizing the significance of a person’s behavior to overall well-being, as well as the benefits of prevention and immediate treatment.

Several organizations are putting their full support on the campaign, including the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD), the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

If you want to support the campaign through a monetary donation, you may send them through this page at drugfree.org. You may also find more information about National Recovery Month from the SAMHSA website.

Substance abuse can drain a family’s financial resources. Hence, some drug addicts are unable to seek extensive addiction treatment or complete a rehabilitation program. Military veterans with drug and alcohol problems are particularly at odds of getting their lives back on track because many of them do not have the means to fund appropriate treatment.

Such dilemma prompted the Online Substance Abuse Treatment to offer free self-directed treatment program and affordable online counseling program to former service members who are dependent on illicit substances. OSAT believes that military vets have given so much for the country, and helping them with their addiction struggles will mean so much to them as well as to their families.

According to a press release, military war veterans will be given access to a 30-session self-directed treatment program without paying a single dollar. The program involves interactive therapeutic processes and exercises that would engage participants and spark their personal insights. It will also provide step-by-step guidance to help a veteran free himself from the cycle of addictive behaviors.

OSAT is also offering substantially discounted 10-week online counseling program. Thirty 1-hour group sessions cost $400 while thirty 3-hour sessions would cost $600. The live online counseling program will be conducted under the guidance of an experienced counselor to help a veteran overcome his dependencies on drugs and alcohol.

Participants who complete the online treatment programs are issued completion certificates. Judges and employers often look upon such documentation as demonstration of the individual’s efforts and self-initiative to actively work toward addiction treatment.

State Governor Susana Martinez led the ribbon cutting ceremony during the opening of a new treatment program which targets adolescents with drug and alcohol problems.

Gov. Martinez was joined by Maggie Hart Stebbins, Department of Health staff and Bernalillo County Commissioner, in unveiling the Adolescent Addiction Treatment Program which will combine drug and alcohol dependency treatment with mental health services.

The 20-bed inpatient unit is housed in Turquoise Lodge Hospital in Albuquerque at the MATS campus and will serve 14 to 18 year olds who have serious substance abuse addictions that has not been successfully treated.

“With this new program, we won’t wait until the severity of the problem progresses to criminal activity, incarceration, or overdose,” Gov. Martinez said in a news release. “We are addressing an immediate need in our state. New Mexico teens will get the help they need now. This program has the potential to be a model for teen drug treatment across the country.”

The $2 million addiction treatment program was funded through the state’s general fund as approved by the New Mexico Legislature and Gov. Martinez. According to Department of Health Cabinet Secretary Retta Ward, MPH, the new unit will give teen patients access to inpatient services that were not previously available to them. Initially, patients will be accepted from referrals by Core Service Agencies located in Bernalillo County and expand to patients around the state throughout the year.

Looking for an effective addiction treatment program is like finding quality education for your kids. You go through a long list of options you can find on the Internet, review recommendations from friends, check whether the system will work for you, assess if the program specifically addresses your problem…the list goes on. To put it more bluntly, it entails a lengthy research unless you just want to waste money paying for a program that wouldn’t keep you sober long enough.

In the recent years, we have seen a lot of substance abuse treatment centers opening here and there. All of them promise to help addicts get their lives back using this and that programs. The question is: are any of those programs the right one for you?

If you will take an addiction treatment facility’s claim at face value it won’t be any easier for you to pick the right substance abuse treatment program.

A New York Times feature cited a 2012 study conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University which concluded that “the vast majority of people in need of addiction treatment do not receive anything that approximates evidence-based care.”

The CASA Columbia report has exposed the sad truth that most of those providing addiction treatment are not medical professionals and are not equipped with the knowledge, skills or credentials necessary to provide the full range of evidence-based services.

So how do you make sure then that you’re not wasting time and money for an addiction treatment?

Anne M. Fletcher, a science writer and author of “Inside Rehab” and “Sober for Good,” offers the following guidelines:

1. Get an independent assessment of the need for treatment and kind of treatment needed from an expert who is not connected with the rehab center you are considering.

2. Check the credentials of the treatment program’s personnel.

3. Don’t choose a program just because it’s popular.

4. Meet with the therapist who will treat you and ask about your treatment plan.

5. Find out if you will receive therapy for any underlying condition, like depression or a social problem that could get in the way of your recovery.

The Ohio State University has expanded its commitment to help addiction recovering students through its newly established program, the Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC).

OSU CRC is made possible in collaboration with Counseling and Consultation Services (CCS) and University Residences and Dining Services. Its goal is to provide encouragement and engagement to students who are in the addiction recovery process.

“We want this to be, as much as possible, a very healthy community of mutual support,” Curtis Haywood, a licensed professional clinical counselor for CCS, told The Lantern. “We don’t want to exclude any student that’s serious about recovery. If they’re serious about recovery, we want to be there with open arms welcoming them into this program.”

Although the program is still in its early stages, OSU plans to launch CRC at the start of the Fall 2013 semester and the recovery house in the Fall 2014 semester.

The program is modeled after a Texas Tech University recovery program. In addition to a recovery house, OSU’s recovery program components include academic advising, individual counseling, life skills workshops, community service opportunities, and family weekend — among others.

While OSU had offered services for those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, the CRC is its first comprehensive recovery program to date.

Other universities that have adopted a program like CRC include the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Michigan.

“Jenelle has been through the wringer lately,” the source said. “She got married to a guy that she now thinks is a disaster, got pregnant, had a miscarriage and is basically falling apart.”

Meanwhile, Jenelle’s on-again boyfriend Gary Head defended her on Twitter regard her substance abuse issues. “Jenelle is NOT ON DRUGS. She got sent for emotional support because this season was so intense.” he tweeted on Feb. 25. “MTV Does not want her to see this season and then relapse BC of all the stress but I will say that Jenelle does not do drugs. I won’t allow that and he knows that if she ever goes back to drugs then she can have them. But she won’t have me.”